1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to syringes and, more particularly, to a syringe including a cannula for delivering a diluent or additional medication into the syringe.
2. Background of Related Art
Syringe assemblies which include two chambers for separately storing a diluent and a medication are well known in the art. Typically, multi-chamber syringes which separately store a diluent and a medication are required with medications which are poorly soluble or insoluble in an agueous solution, medications which lack sufficient physical or chemical stability when stored for a prolonged period of time, or medications which include active ingredients which undergo degradation due to interaction with a suspension medium. Such medications are typically stored in a syringe assembly in a dry, lyophilized state separate from a diluent.
Although multi-chamber syringes have proven effective for mixing medications in powder form with a diluent immediately prior to injection into a venous catheter or related device, such syringes typically are complex and, thus, are expensive to manufacture.
Accordingly, a continuing need exists in the medical arts for a syringe assembly which has the capability of mixing a diluent with a medication immediately prior to injection, which is less complex and provides improved mixing capabilities.